Recently, I reported that I gained 28 hours a week by giving up television. It’s really easy to fill that time up with other meaningless activity. What really helped my time management was a complete paradigm shift. First I had to free up the time, but then I resisted busy-ness, prioritized my desires, cleared my mind, and integrated my life. Combined, I was able to create a full, rich life.

Give Up Busy-ness

Most time management systems emphasize creating, categorizing, and prioritizing lists and getting them done. One of the disadvantages of these systems is that the time spent getting something done is passed as drudgery and you get the high of the accomplishment. The high is fleeting, but you’ve passed minutes or hours. You are left with a sense of emptiness even though you’ve accomplished everything on your list.

Lists generate a lot of activity that is largely unfulfilling. Like a hummingbird, you flit from task to task and at the end of the day you have a tiny bit of nectar to show for your hard work. This can be very frustrating.

Let go of busy-ness. Spend your time engaging in meaningful activities that nourish you life. When I told my colleague this, he responded that he still had to do the laundry. This, of course, is true. We still have to do the dishes and the laundry and the bathrooms, so read on.

Do First Things First

Last year, in addition to my 40-hour week job, I served as Board President, completed speeches toward my Toastmaster’s Competent Communicator award, and published over 100 articles on this site. All while going through a divorce.

None of those activities were on my daily hit list though. Sure, doing my full time job was necessary to bring in income to fund the rest of my activities, but it was not a must-do. My top priority was living an inspired life. I realized that, meditation, walking, and writing, were the 3 things that enriched my life and fueled me to complete all the other tasks. That’s where I put my focus. They were at the top of the heap. Once they got done, I felt my day was complete even thought I still had 8 hours at my day job.

Completing the most important tasks first, sends a message to your being that you are successful. It reinforces that you can accomplish what you set your mind too. It gives you the confidence needed to reach your goals.

Identify what is important to you and do the activities that support this idea first.

Build Mental Space

Mental space gives you the capacity to hold the complete picture in your mind, yet execute effectively in the moment. At any point you are fully engaged in the task at hand, and in your mind there is a clear mental picture of all that is necessary for you to succeed. It gives you the ability to move with ease and grace throughout your activities without being overwhelmed.

What brings this ease?

A healthy spiritual practice, preferably silent meditation. Your spiritual practice will center you. You will gain clarity so that you function as a laser without having blind spots.

Interconnect Your Life

In the West, we tend to live in stylos. We work for 8-5 Monday to Friday. We spend time with our children for x number of hours a week. We engage in hobbies with friends or alone. However, we don’t see those friends in any other aspect of our lives. We might attend worship services, but not engage in the community outside of that hour on Sunday.

When you weave your life together, the party that you have to go to on Saturday for Christopher’s friend becomes social time for you as well. Rather than sit on the sidelines watching the kids play, spend some time engaging in conversation with the hosts. Get together with the moms alone so that you can enjoy the friendship these women offer.

An integral life that is woven like a tapestry is stronger and more fulfilling. You leverage your time because you are completing multiple tasks. In addition, the whole activity is more enriching than the sum of the individual tasks.

In Spirit,
Nneka